Daoist Zhiping was carried to the pill refining room. Lu Ying and Wang Daxia wanted to continue eavesdropping on what these stinking Daoists were planning as their “proper business” to “repay Prince Jing,” but the temple master didn’t continue and told the Daoists to return and rest, saying everyone still had things to do tomorrow.
In the early morning hours, snoring thundered throughout the Daoist temple. Lu Ying and Wang Daxia snuck around White Deer Temple, picking locks and checking each room for any hidden weapons or evidence like White Lotus Sect treasure scrolls with “Complete Tang Poetry” covers, but they found nothing.
Wang Daxia yawned and began to lose heart. “Boss, these stinking Daoists are very cunning. They must be hiding things in some secret chamber or dark room, or they have another residence elsewhere, specifically to prevent raids and searches from exposing them. Temple and Daoist temple properties don’t pay taxes, and Prince Jing’s mansion has many shops and farmland under White Deer Temple’s name. With such vast holdings, as they say, rabbits don’t eat the grass near their own burrow—they definitely wouldn’t do bad things at home.”
Lu Ying frowned. “They keep saying they need to complete tasks assigned by Prince Jing. Prince Jing has already gone to establish his princedom in Hubei, thousands of miles away. What business could he still have in the capital? I think Prince Jing is plotting something major.”
Wang Daxia was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open. “Then let’s cast a long line to catch big fish—we’ll keep watching them.”
The next morning, after a night of freezing rain, the roads were muddy but the air was fresh. People on the streets and in the alleys all removed their eye veils and face coverings, looking refreshed and energetic. White vapor puffed from their mouths when they spoke—winter had arrived.
The Daoists from White Deer Temple left through the back door wearing regular clothes. The Imperial Guard’s secret agents followed from a distance and discovered they went to Guanghua Temple on Gulou West Diagonal Street in the northern district—very close to Wang Daxia’s home.
Guanghua Temple faced Gulou West Diagonal Street in front, with its back door opening to Shichahai. It was an imperial temple. However, because Emperor Jiajing believed in Daoism and vigorously promoted various Daoist temples, Guanghua Temple had declined like other Buddhist temples in recent years, receiving no imperial patronage. Not only were the buildings in disrepair, but even the gold leaf on the Buddha statues was peeling off, no longer maintaining its former glory.
To preserve the incense and inheritance, Guanghua Temple had long abandoned the dignity of an imperial temple, finding ways to make money and be self-sufficient. They not only opened their doors to ordinary people coming to burn incense, placing donation boxes everywhere for pilgrims’ offerings, but also rented out empty rooms in the temple.
Provincial scholars coming to the capital for examinations, merchants, and all sorts of people mixed together. They even rented out the entire rear courtyard to a restaurant. The restaurant converted the temple’s back door into its main entrance, creating a scene of wine pools and meat forests, with singing and dancing courtesans providing entertainment. The Buddhist sanctuary was no longer a pure and quiet place.
The Daoists came to the bustling Guanghua Temple, noisy as a marketplace. Some went to burn incense, some wandered around, some went to the restaurant and requested a private room, but all their gazes were fixed on one person.
Upon seeing this person, the secret agents were shocked and immediately released carrier pigeons.
At the Imperial Guard headquarters, Wang Daxia was lying at his desk, sound asleep and catching up on rest. Lu Ying pushed him twice but couldn’t wake him, so she gave up, picked up a large fur cloak, and draped it over Wang Daxia’s shoulders.
Then she went to find her father Lu Bing and handed over the latest intelligence report.
“The Daoists from White Deer Temple are secretly following Prince Yu. Today is the anniversary of Prince Yu’s consort’s death, and Prince Yu is having religious ceremonies performed for his deceased wife at Guanghua Temple. I suspect these Daoists harbor ill intentions toward Prince Yu.”
The relationship between Emperor Jiajing and his son Prince Yu was terrible. Emperor Jiajing vigorously promoted Daoism, proclaimed himself Supreme Lord, and practiced immortal cultivation and pill refinement. Prince Yu believed in Buddhism, frequently going to temples to recite sutras, eat vegetarian meals, and perform religious ceremonies—breaking the pot and smashing it, opposing his father emperor, a silent form of resistance.
Lu Bing calmly read through the intelligence and said, “The rivalry between these two princes hasn’t been going on for just a day or two. We Imperial Guards must absolutely not get involved. The Imperial Guard is only responsible for protecting national and imperial security, not getting entangled in succession struggles. Otherwise, even I would lose the emperor’s trust.”
Lu Bing was absolutely loyal to Emperor Jiajing. From the perspective of imperial power’s uniqueness, an aging emperor would definitely guard against two young and vigorous sons. It was better for the two sons to secretly compete and fight each other than for them to unite against their father.
As a naturally suspicious emperor, if his sons were brotherly and harmonious, he would actually be afraid. Only when his sons were distantly related, competing and fighting, would his throne be secure.
Having been raised on the same wet nurse’s milk, Lu Bing understood Emperor Jiajing too well.
Lu Ying was doused with cold water from head to toe by her father, chilled to the bone. She had stayed up all night following this lead, with dark circles under her eyes, thinking she had made a major breakthrough, only to have her father tell her not to meddle and avoid bringing trouble upon herself.
Lu Ying took a deep breath, didn’t give up, and continued, “This isn’t mutual surveillance and fighting between princes. These Daoists are extremely cunning—they almost killed Doctor Wei, and when they struck, they disguised themselves as the White Lotus Sect, showing their deep scheming. Wang Daxia ate a belly full of sand and dust before luckily managing to stake out the criminals. Is the Imperial Guard going to ignore this? Did Doctor Wei bleed and Wang Daxia eat sand and dust all for nothing?”
Lu Bing sighed. “You’re still young and don’t understand how complex this is. Succession struggles are extremely sensitive matters. The conflict between Wei Caiwei and Eunuch Wei from Prince Jing’s mansion was a personal grudge. Eunuch Wei wanted to use the White Lotus Sect as a cover to kill Wei Caiwei, who had made him lose face. This didn’t succeed, right? And while you have witness testimony, you have no physical evidence. Did you find the books disguised as White Lotus Sect treasure scrolls?”
“Prince Jing’s mansion could completely turn around and bite back, turning the personal grudge into a succession struggle, claiming you’re conspiring to slander and frame Prince Jing to help Prince Yu. If they escalate this matter and it reaches the emperor, he definitely won’t side with you. The emperor has long been disgusted with Prince Yu. If you frame Prince Jing to help Prince Yu, the emperor will be disgusted with all of you. Both you and Wang Daxia would lose your positions—failing to catch the chicken and losing the rice. Why bother?”
Lu Ying was unconvinced and argued persistently, “How could there be a personal grudge between Doctor Wei and Eunuch Wei? Doctor Wei opposed Eunuch Wei because she spoke up for those selected girls. The selected girls belong to the emperor—she wasn’t doing it for herself. Clearly it was Eunuch Wei who disregarded the selected girls’ lives and safety. When he lost face, he took it out on Doctor Wei. Doctor Wei was retaliated against by Eunuch Wei because of official business. In the end, it’s still official business, not a personal grudge.”
Lu Bing asked back, “Do you think the emperor will listen to your explanation? All the emperor will see is you helping Prince Yu. The Imperial Guard serves as the emperor’s personal troops, not Prince Yu’s mansion guards.”
Lu Ying asked, “But Prince Yu is the emperor’s son. If the stinking Daoists from White Deer Temple mean harm to Prince Yu, should we just stand by and do nothing?”
Lu Bing said, “Assassinate Prince Yu in broad daylight and in public? Prince Jing isn’t that stupid.”
Lu Ying said, “What if the White Deer Temple Daoists are just monitoring and recording Prince Yu’s movements, while another group of assassins who have never shown themselves will do the actual deed? When they moved against Doctor Wei, they borrowed the White Lotus Sect as cover. What if they use the same trick against Prince Yu? If the Imperial Guard ignores this, wouldn’t that be dereliction of duty?”
Lu Bing said, “Everything is your speculation, with no evidence whatsoever. Just based on White Deer Temple people following Prince Yu, you want to guess they’ll move against Prince Yu and have the Imperial Guard arrest all these stinking Daoists. Do you think Prince Jing’s people will stand by and watch? Minister Yan would be the first to stand up and speak for Prince Jing, turning around to bite you back. When that time comes, even I won’t be able to protect you.”
Emperor Jiajing’s disgust with Prince Yu was even greater than his disgust with Prince Jing. Prince Jing only spied on selected girls, but Prince Yu had been silently and passively resisting his father emperor. When the father emperor believed in Daoism, he deliberately believed in Buddhism. No father would like a son who specifically opposed him.
Lu Ying was still unconvinced. “Should we just ignore the stinking Daoists who kidnapped Doctor Wei?”
Lu Bing said, “Don’t be hasty, be patient. We definitely won’t let him go—we’ll settle accounts after autumn. We can’t move now. One move and we’ll be passively drawn into the succession struggle. If the Imperial Guard and our Lu family are perceived by the emperor as supporting Prince Yu, we’ll all be finished.”
Lu Ying naturally wouldn’t bet her entire family and the Imperial Guard’s future. She was silent for a while, then asked, “Does father want me to withdraw the agents from Guanghua Temple?”
Lu Bing said, “Continue watching, wait and see, don’t be impulsive. You need to be like a hunter, waiting for the right moment.”
“I understand.” Lu Ying took her leave. Lu Bing called her back and asked, “Did you stay up all night again yesterday?”
Lu Ying lied with dark circles under her eyes, “No.”
Lu Bing said, “I can hear Wang Daxia’s snoring from here.”
Lu Ying pricked up her ears and indeed heard waves of purring sounds like a cat.
Lu Bing said, “Don’t push yourself so hard, don’t follow my old path. I’ll keep an eye on Guanghua Temple for you. Although I won’t take sides to help any prince, I also won’t sit by and watch a prince be assassinated. Go back and sleep quickly.”
After all, she was his biological daughter. Lu Bing knew her stubborn temperament—asking her to give up completely was impossible. He could only go along with her and let her rest assured.
Lu Ying had been doused with cold water by her father, then warmed up at the end. A slap followed by a sweet date to eat—Lu Ying ultimately remembered only the sweetness of the date.
Lu Ying returned to the duty room. Wang Daxia was still sleeping at his desk, lips slightly parted, transparent sticky drool pooled on the open case files on the table, rising and falling with his breathing.
Lu Ying felt a wave of weariness wash over her—not physical fatigue, but spiritual exhaustion. It turned out that under imperial power, things like justice, fairness, truth, and so on were actually meaningless.
Doctor Wei’s dangerous situation, Wang Daxia’s sand and dust, Military Officer Wu’s perfect performance in the honey trap, her and her subordinates’ efforts—all of it was as insignificant as dust under imperial power, not worth mentioning.
Lu Ying pushed Wang Daxia. “Don’t sleep lying down like that, you’ll catch cold. Go lie down properly.”
Wang Daxia was at the age of rapid growth, sleeping so deeply that thunder and lightning couldn’t wake him.
Lu Ying pushed him several times but still couldn’t wake him. Thinking she shouldn’t interrupt his sweet dreams, she simply squatted into a horse stance, hoisted Wang Daxia onto her shoulder like a sack, carried him to the bed in the duty room, even helped him take off his shoes and covered him with a quilt.
Just then, Military Officer Wu passed by the duty room and inadvertently glanced through the window: This is terrible! Commander Lu and Captain Wang seem to be on the bed together…
Military Officer Wu covered his mouth, lightened his steps, and tiptoed away like a cat. I didn’t see anything! That was just an illusion! Repeat the above ten thousand times!
Meanwhile, Wei Caiwei used a childhood military counting rhyme to select the middle palace servant, who was a eunuch. She took out a silver needle, intending to forcibly wake him.
But as soon as her hand touched his face, she realized something was wrong—he was no longer breathing.
This person had already been silenced.
Author’s Note: Three people, six-way romance, both BL and BG relationships included.